Cloning your display across multiple monitors works well for presentations, but configuring your monitors to act as one big monitor might improve your productivity. This arrangement enables you to open a full-screen application in each window or stretch a complex spreadsheet across both displays. Windows apps can also open in a separate screen, but due to Windows 8 limitations, you can only display apps on a single monitor at a time.

1. Verify each monitor is connected to your computer and powered on. Modern desktop computers typically have two DVI ports, and laptop computers usually contain a DVI, VGA or HDMI port for connecting to one external monitor.

2. Select "Devices" from the Charms bar and choose "Second Screen." Alternatively, press "Win-P" to open the Second Screen sidebar.

3. Select "Extend" to extend your display across multiple monitors. Doing so makes multiple monitors act as one big screen. Choosing "Duplicate" will make each monitor mirror the same display.

Tip

If you want to change the default configuration of each monitor, type "adjust screen resolution" while viewing the Start screen, click "Settings" and select "Adjust Screen Resolution." The resulting window enables you to select a display and choose a different resolution or orientation.